The National Treasure: Di Renjie

【Death of the Crown Prince × Honest Admonishment × Palace Horrors × Restoring the Luling King】

Di Renjie was Wu Zetian's most important minister and the primary official responsible for the restoration of the Tang Dynasty.

Why did both the irreconcilable "Tang Usurpers" and the "Tang Loyalists" rely so heavily on him?

How many mysteries are hidden within his life?

【Wu Zetian was naturally suspicious and used any means necessary to strike down dissidents; why did she place so much trust in Di Renjie?】

【Deeply influenced by Confucian culture, why did Di Renjie become an accomplice to Wu Zetian's usurpation of the Tang and the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty?】

In the first year of Jiushi (700 AD), Di Renjie passed away suddenly at his residence in Luoyang. When the news reached the palace, the 77-year-old Wu Zetian closed her eyes in a daze, unable to say a word. After a long silence, two lines of hot tears escaped from her eyelids, trickled down her wrinkled cheeks, and fell onto her imperial robe. Supporting her ailing body and leaning on her attendants, Wu Zetian moved shakily toward the main hall. She struggled to move her heavy legs, her head shaking uncontrollably, the tassels on her imperial crown clattering, and her cracked lips moving slightly. The sound of the tassels was faint, but the attendants could vaguely hear the four words Wu Zetian repeated over and over: "The court is empty!"

This book follows Di Renjie's life from his childhood, his entry into officialdom, his rise to prominence, and finally his ups and downs in the sea of politics. His life was full of twists and turns, trials and tribulations; he is a legend, and even more, a mystery. Using profound historical and literary expertise, the author clears the fog with a sharp, humorous, and deep writing style to provide a comprehensive and brilliant interpretation of Di Renjie's life.